Etherbooks

Welcome To The Etherbooks Project

Between August 24th and September 24th, 2007, I mailed or delivered five blank notebooks to five people with the following instructions:

This book is the (number) of five books that make up a public art project. These books have been sent out into the world, and I hope they will return to me in time. For now, though, it is yours, and I encourage you to add to it as you wish. Write a page, or two, or four. Write one sentence. Draw a picture. Share an opinion. Or a secret. Write about anything you want. The most I ask is to give some indication of who you are (a state or town name, job title, etc.) so that we can later follow the journey this book undertook. Then pass it on, to a friend, a loved one, a stranger. That is my challenge to you.

When the books return to me, their contents will be shared with the world. I want to make it clear that I will not directly profit from these books, and neither will you. Please keep in mind that your contribution will enter the public domain, probably under a Creative Commons license (for more information, please see http://creativecommons.org/). Any profits derived from these books will be donated to charity.

If you decide not to contribute, I ask you to please pass the book on anyway so that the project may continue. If you would prefer to neither pass it on nor contribute, or if you are the final person to contribute to this book, please return it to the address below. You may include a return address and I will gladly reimburse you for the shipping and handling costs. You may also contact me at that address for more information about the project.

Thank you and enjoy!

The first two books went to people I admired but who have never met me: the first, to Fred Gallagher, author of Megatokyo, and the second to Jim Munroe, indie novelist.

The remaining three went to people close to me; the third, to a friend of mine here at the University of Connecticut, the fourth, to a dear friend at Columbia University, and the fifth to a photography professor, also at the University of Connecticut.

All of these people I felt I could trust to lend the books a sense of momentum. I have a – perhaps naive – hope that once a notebook is started, the work of previous contributers will compel and inspire the work of others.

For now, my part in the project is complete. I have released the books into the ether. I can keep tabs on a few of them, for a short time, but in large part, they belong to the world.

My job is to wait and see what comes back.